


A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

by Jellybean96



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s02e06 Head Case, F/M, Feelings Realization, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, episode speculation, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: Who knew falling down an elevator shaft was all it would take for two people to start seeing each other in a new light.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 91





	A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nikka001](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikka001/gifts).



> Hey babes! Back with a new story for ya! So happy that I was able to write this quickly enough to be able to get it up before the new episode (who saw that snippet from the Canadian promo? holy hell I'm excited) because it's a bit of spec fic. Obviously, we don't know how long Malcolm's gonna be unconscious and what he's going to see and all that jazz, but this was just my little take on what I think would be nice to see at the end.
> 
> Well, it's partially mine, and partially my sister's. She came up with the initial idea and then let me take over writing this and do my thing with it. She's also already ready it and has given it her seal of approval. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

She can't tear her eyes away from the bed. From him. He's only woken up once, just barely, since they found him at the bottom of the elevator shaft. He'd been completely unmoving and she immediately feared the worst of the whole situation. But thankfully he was still alive just knocked unconscious.

She hadn't planned on staying at the hospital for too long; she's not their biggest fan. She figured she'd stay for a few minutes at most, just to check on Bright and make sure he's okay. Then she'd leave and come back later once he's awake.

What she also hadn't planned on was Jessica Whitly approaching her in the hallway of the hospital, informing her that Bright said he wanted to see her, and only her, and then promptly fell back asleep. That just made her anxiety of being in hospitals shoot to a new level. She can't quite put her finger on why, though. And it hadn't helped matters when she clocked in on the look Mrs. Whitly was giving her as she walked past. A look that she couldn't quite place. She knows her own feelings about the woman, but the last she knew, Mrs. Whitly didn't have a problem with her.

But she tries to push all of that out of her mind as she sits at her friend's bedside, watching him sleep. A nurse had come in a while ago to try and give him a sedative to help him sleep and recover, but she promised her that it wouldn't be a good idea to do that. Bright needs to be able to wake up if things go bad in his head.

As she watches him sleep, she can't help but wonder what's going on inside his head. He doesn't seem to be in any kind of distress; no furrowed brows or pursed lips, no violent thrashing or screaming. So either he's not dreaming, or for once it might actually be something good.

She prays for the latter. After everything he's gone through in his life, he deserves to experience a little bit of peace. Even if it is just in a dreamworld.

Her entire body perks up when she sees Bright moving in the bed. She leans forward, resting her forearms on her knees and preparing herself to call for a nurse or doctor, or even his mom or Gil. But she hesitates. He doesn't seem to be in pain, so maybe it'll be okay if she waits before getting someone.

"Bright?" she speaks up when his head starts moving. "Hey, can you hear me? Bright."

His head slowly turns toward her, his eyes opening but squinting. He lets out a quiet groan and then the edges of his lips quirk up. "Dani."

She can't help but smile back. "Hey. How you feeling?"

"Fine." His eyes close for just a moment. "I'm glad you're here." His hand stretches across the empty space of bed next to him, searching, and then his eyebrows furrow together tightly. "Where..." His body shifts on the bed just a little and he reaches out toward her.

She stills when he grasps one of her hands, his thumb rubbing gently over her skin. As she goes to lean back his hand tightens around hers.

"No," he mumbles, sounding almost like a small child. "No, don't go."

She swallows. "I'm not leaving. I'm just moving my chair closer so it's more comfortable to sit with you holding my hand."

He nods slowly. "Okay." The hold he has on her hand relaxes but remains firm, the rest of his body following suit in relaxing as he succumbs to sleep again.

She continues to sit by his bedside as he sleeps, her hand tucked securely in his keeping her from moving too far. They've held hands before, rarely, but it feels different this time. For whatever reason she can't quite figure out.

Her mind wanders as she sits there, ever curious as to what's going on in Bright's head. She can't help but wonder about what made him ask for her specifically before he fell asleep for the first time. She wonders about what made him seek out her touch just moments ago.

His hand slowly slipping from hers brings her back to the present. She shifts a little in her chair, watching his body move. His hand pulls as his body turns slowly onto its side away from her.

She doesn't think much of it, eager to flex her fingers out a bit and get some feeling back.

But then he screams. It's not loud, but it is jarring.

Her hand falls out of his as she sits up and she doesn't realize right away the mistake it was. She's vaguely aware of a few pairs of footsteps somewhere behind her, but all she can focus on is her friend, and how he seems to be in some kind of distress.

She almost calls for a nurse or a doctor, but she pauses. He's not in pain. He's scared. His eyebrows are knitted tightly together and his breathing is faster than it should be.

Her name slips past his lips as his body starts thrashing. She's out of her chair in an instant, moving closer to his bed and grabbing hold of his hand again. She squeezes it tightly, hoping it'll help ground him back in reality and away from whatever nightmare he's enduring.

"No," he mutters as his thrashing starts to slow down. "Dani...Dani, please no. Not...no."

She leans over him and doesn't even hesitate in brushing his hair back. Her fingers slide easily through his hair, her fingernails lightly scratching against his scalp. "I'm right here," she says quietly, but just loud enough for him to hopefully hear her. "Bright, I'm right here. You're okay. You're fine."

For a split moment, she's teleported back to the first time she witnessed one of his nightmares when he'd tackled her to the floor of the precinct. She'd reacted back then on instinct too, holding him close and helping him come down from whatever fear was overtaking him. She just hopes whatever this one was it wasn't as bad as that first one.

Keeping her fingers moving through his hair, she watches as he calms down the rest of the way, his body relaxing again and his hand tightening around hers once more. She squeezes back gently.

Stretching her leg out behind her, she drags her chair back toward her and then sits down. She slowly pulls her fingers out of his hair, ignoring the way she misses the feeling. She's not surprised how soft and full his hair is, given the number of hair products she saw in his bathroom that time she had to punch him just to get him to sleep.

Leaning back in her chair as best she can with her hand still clasped in his, she lets out a heavy breath and runs her other hand through her own hair. It's going to be a very, very long night.

* * *

Everything's hazy. And he's a little groggy from sleep — that's a particular feeling he's not entirely used to. Whatever strange fantasy he had conjured up in his head really did a number on him. He doesn't remember much of it, only bits and pieces. The clearest thing he does remember is falling down an empty elevator shaft. Which probably accounts for why he's lying in a hospital bed. Thankfully not attached to any IVs containing sedatives.

A gentle pounding at the base of his skull has him wincing. Most likely it's a result of his fall, he must have hit his head on something that knocked him out. And clearly, someone found him and called 9-1-1 if he's in a hospital and the pain isn't as bad as it could be.

A soft pressure against his hand pulls his attention toward the edge of the bed. His eyebrows furrow together slightly when he sees Dani asleep in a chair right next to his bed, her hand gripped halfway in his and her body slumped down. That position can't be comfortable for her.

"She's been there the whole time you've been in here."

He looks up to the other side of the room where Gil is leaning against the wall, a cup of hospital coffee in his hands. "Gil," he manages to get out, his voice raspy from lack of use.

Gil shakes his head as he pushes off the wall and approaches. "Slow down, kid." He sets his coffee down on the side table and fills up the plastic cup provided with some water from the pitcher next to it. "Here, drink."

Malcolm nods his head appreciatively and accepts the cup, taking slow sips of the water, letting the cool liquid coat his throat. He swallows and hands the cup back to Gil. "How long have I been asleep?" he asks, keeping his voice low for Dani's sake.

"Probably a lot longer than you normally are."

"So at least four hours, then," he tries to joke.

Gil's lips twitch. Then he breathes deeply and picks up his coffee. "I'm gonna go find your doctor, let him know you're awake."

He just nods silently, watching Gil make his way out of the room. Once the older man is gone, he turns his focus back on Dani. Some of her curls have fallen forward, obscuring most of her face from his view. As carefully as he can he pulls his hand out of hers, not wanting to disturb her.

She jerks awake a second later, sitting up in alarm, her eyes locking onto his. "Bright?"

He gives her half a smile. "Uh, hi."

"Hi." She lets out a breath and pushes her hair back out of her face. "Did you just wake up?"

He nods. "Yeah. Gil was here. He went to find my doctor. Though, I don't know why, because I feel perfectly fine."

She gives him a look, one brow raised. "Seriously? Only you would fall down an elevator shaft, hit your head on something, remain in a coma-like state for hours, and then claim to feel perfectly fine."

"Because I do."

She lets out a quick laugh, nodding her head. "Uh-huh. Sure you do."

He laughs quietly. "I do. Why don't you believe me?"

"Because when you say you're fine, you're never actually fine." She stands from the chair and raises her arms above her head to stretch, bending her back a bit, most likely to ease any knots that started to form from how she'd been sleeping.

His breath catches in his throat when her shirt rides up just enough to reveal a small strip of skin right along her waist. His mind flashes to a memory that he's fairly certain he doesn't actually have; Dani's sitting next to him on the couch in his loft, her bare legs thrown over his, his hands roaming the skin concealed by her shirt that's actually one of his, her hands gently caressing his face, and her lips locked onto his.

"Bright?"

His eyes snap up to look at her face, and he forces his mind to stop thinking about how her skin would feel under his hands. But looking at her face doesn't help any because now all he's seeing are flashes of her smiling brightly and laughing heartily, faint whispers of her calling him 'baby' echoing in the back of his mind, nothing but love and joy shining in her eyes as she does so. And again, he doesn't recall any actual memories like this.

He feels the blush crawling up his neck and tears his eyes away from her completely, forcing himself to look anywhere but at her.

"Bright, you good?"

He nods, swallowing thickly. "Uh, yeah. I'm...I'm good. Just got a little warm all of a sudden."

"Okay," she says slowly. "That doesn't explain why you won't look at me, though."

He quickly glances up at her, then gestures vaguely. "Lights."

"The lights aren't on."

"They're not?" he questions, slowly looking up at her.

Her lips are pulled in tight and she shakes her head. "Mm-mm."

"Oh." He shifts in the bed so he's sitting up more, wincing when he moves his head just a little too quickly.

Dani snorts. "So much for being fine, huh?"

"I am fine," he remarks, looking up at her again. Thankfully there are no more odd flashes of an unfamiliar version of Dani shooting through his mind. "Perfectly and completely fine. Nothing to be alarmed about."

Dani opens her mouth to speak, taking a tiny step forward. But she's cut off by the sound of multiple pairs of footsteps approaching the room. Her mouth snaps shut and her hands slide into the pockets of her jeans.

"Mr. Bright, glad to see you wide awake."

He smiles politely at the doctor. "That makes two of us." His attention is pulled away when he sees Dani moving out of the corner of his eye. She's heading toward the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Dani…"

She freezes, looking at him with slightly wide eyes. She takes a small step back toward the bed and juts a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm gonna head out now. Pretty sure I've got some paperwork to fill out, and you're clearly going to be busy talking to your doctor. But uh, but I'll check on you later?"

He nods. "Okay. And uh, thanks, Dani, for staying."

The corners of her lips pull up into a genuine smile. "No problem. What are friends for, right?"

He smiles. "Yeah."

As he watches her walk out of the hospital room, another memory flash enters his mind, of Dani sauntering away from him wearing nothing but her undergarments and one of his dress shirts, candlelight being the only thing illuminating her form. He swallows thickly at the image in his head, forcing it away. These can't be his own memories, because he knows for a fact that he's never seen Dani like that.

And then it hits him. Whatever dream world he'd been experiencing while knocked out, that must be where all those memories are coming from. But it doesn't make sense. Because he doesn't see Dani that way. She's just his friend, he doesn't see her that way. Unless the dream world was his subconscious trying to show him what he wants in his life because it knows he isn't ready to admit it out loud just yet. If that is the case then it's going to make working with her very interesting from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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